Four years ago, Greenville city leaders accepted the fact that they couldn't convince Greenville Country Club to allow a link to close a one-mile gap that would have extended the Swamp Rabbit Trail from downtown to Lake Conestee.

So, with $2.5 million set aside, the city shifted the money to help with a more present and, it turns out, more ambitious extension four miles alongside Laurens Road.

However, while vague, general information today from Greenville County is that work is proceeding, there has been no public disclosure of when the trail extension, estimated to cost in excess of $6 million, might actually be finished — or even when its construction could begin in earnest.

After multiple attempts by The Greenville News to get a clearer of picture of a timeline, county officials say there is not one that can be shared.

"Progress is certainly being made," Bob Mihalic, a county spokesman, told The News. "We will update when details are complete."

The county's chief liaison for the project and most other matters related to the 22-mile trail that stretches from north of Travelers Rest to the Golden Strip — Ty Houck, director of Greenways, Natural and Historic Resources for the Greenville County parks system — said in an email that the county was "in the mode of trying to finalize agreements with landowners."

Beyond that, Houck and Mihalic declined to answer questions related to the status of the project that has spurred plans for millions of dollars of new economic development along Laurens Road in anticipation of the extension. The News' inquiries included an estimated time for work to begin on the extension, when there might be any portion of the trail available for public use and whether there is any work being completed on the extension while awaiting final property acquisition.

Houck and Michalic also declined to provide information about property acquisition for the trail, including how many properties are needed, their locations and when acquisitions might be completed.

This past January, when the county was actively pulling up railroad infrastructure to clear a path, Houck said that while "the county is happy with the progress being made," officials couldn't offer a timeline for the extension, citing negotiations with private property owners. An estimated completion date would be "arbitrary," he said at the time.

Meanwhile, the city is awaiting further direction from the county on the city's work connecting the extension into Cleveland Park.

“It is really beyond our control," said Mari Steinbach, the city's parks and recreation director. "We’ve been working on the connection into Cleveland Park, because that’s our section.”

In April, The News reported the location of a $1.5 million flyover bridge over Laurens Road that would connect the extension to the main trail in the park. The bridge would cross Laurens behind the Willy Taco restaurant near East Washington Street and land at the former site of East Park Baptist Church.

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A map of the proposed route of the flyover bridge for the Swamp Rabbit Trail over Laurens Road.(Photo: City of Greenville)

City officials have yet to see the county's design for that bridge and two others that the city has committed $2 million to pay for over Haywood Road and Verdae Boulevard.

City Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle said city leaders "want that money in for public use as soon as possible."

"We're glad the county trails department is moving forward on the bridge design and hope to see designs soon," Doyle said. "The city money invested into the Laurens Road trail has been committed since 2015. We know this public investment will help businesses along Laurens Road and connect neighborhoods."

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A map of the proposed route for the Laurens Road Swamp Rabbit Trail extension to connect with downtown Greenville.(Photo: Bike Walk Greenville)

Money in waiting

The city had long courted Greenville Country Club to allow the trail to run alongside its golf course, which would extend the trail from its abrupt interruption at South Pleasantburg Drive at Greenville Technical College.

An easement would have allowed the trail to follow a one-mile path to connect to a dead-end of the trail at Lake Conestee Nature Park, a vision that would have allowed expansion further into the Golden Strip.

The club's leadership declined, citing a desire to focus on renovation of its clubhouse.

When talks ultimately stalled in 2015, city leaders decided to move $2.5 million in hospitality tax money to dedicate it to the county's Laurens Road extension, which has been dubbed the "Greenlink Greenway" and would connect from downtown to the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research near Mauldin.

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Part of the Swamp Rabbit Trail runs through Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018.(Photo: SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff)

The city money would be used to pay for pedestrian bridges over Haywood Road and Verdae Boulevard.

The fund grew to $3.5 million as hospitality tax money was set aside.

This past January, Doyle echoed her sentiment of not wanting money sitting in wait, and the council voted to set aside $1 million to work on its own trail projects.

The promise of an extension to the trail has spurred private investment.

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An end of the Swamp Rabbit Trail runs next to Parkins Mills Road in Greenville Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018.(Photo: SABRINA SCHAEFFER/Staff)

In 2014, Verdae Development CEO Rick Sumerel began talking about the trail extension as part of massive plans for a shopping center and multifamily development.

Last month, an incarnation of that vision — the 262-unit Velo Verdae apartments that prominently touts future direct connection to the Swamp Rabbit Trail — sold to a Tennessee-based real estate investment firm for $48 million.

The popular Willy Taco restaurant, its parking lot frequently filled to capacity, opened at the end of 2016 on Laurens Road and East Washington Street in a renovated feed-and-seed store. Willy Taco investor Richard Heatly said the trail expansion figured prominently into the location decision.

Earlier this month, local attorney Darryl Holland announced plans for Holland Park along Laurens Road, up the hill from Willy Taco.

The 12-acre development would house a Home Team BBQ restaurant and Double Stamp Brewery along with office and retail space and plans for development along the trail that runs along the back of the property.

Holland said that he began consolidating land for the development in 2017 with the expansion of the Swamp Rabbit Trail in mind.

"I think people are underestimating what the trail extension is going to do," Holland told The News. "It's not going to be the Swamp Rabbit Trail. It's going to be the Swamp Rabbit Highway."

Absent movement on the extension, this year the city used $220,000 of its money to study the feasibility of bike lanes on various streets and to perform an engineering study for a project known as the Laurel Creek Trail, which would connect the trail from the Laurens extension to Haywood Mall.

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Map of the proposed route of the Laurel Creek Trail from the future Swamp Rabbit Trail extension to Haywood Mall.(Photo: City of Greenville)

The city also cooperated with the Upstate Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association to construct the Sliding Rock Creek Mountain Bike Trail. The one-mile soft-surface trail is located in the Sliding Rock and Green Forest Park area next to Sterling Elementary and where the Swamp Rabbit Trail runs through the Nicholtown neighborhood.

The remaining $880,000 has been set aside as a "placeholder" for the Laurel Creek extension when it could ultimately be constructed, which isn't imminent, said Edward Kinney, the city's landscape architect who specializes in trails.

The city sought feedback this fall on potential routes the Laurel Creek trail could follow and will present options next month, Kinney said.

There is still much work to be done if the city proceeds, and the effort requires careful planning because the project cost will likely be $500,000 minimum and "has potential to get steep if we're not careful," Kinney said.

The city hasn't approached property owners in the area to try to secure easements, he said.

The trail beyond Cleveland Park and Falls Park

The city's effort to connect the Swamp Rabbit extension to Cleveland Park is part of an ongoing master planning process for the park, which will pick back up next month with presentation of concepts.

The city is considering multiple options, one of which would have the extension connect to downtown outside of both Cleveland and Falls parks, a suggestion put forward by the trail advocacy group Bike Walk Greenville.

The group's executive director, Frank Mansbach, said that the extension into downtown will need to be one that accommodates those who are traveling the Swamp Rabbit as a means of transportation, not just recreation.

The trail's path through Falls Park, for instance, requires cyclists to walk their bikes. If users are to employ the trail as a source of commuting, the trail will need a more direct route into downtown, he said.

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A rough sketch of how the Swamp Rabbit Extension would connect in and out of Cleveland Park and travel alongside the back of the Greenville Zoo.(Photo: Bike Walk Greenville)

A main proposal put forth by the group in concert with the city's Green Ribbon Advisory Committee would have the extension descend down the hill to Richland Way, which could be turned into a pedestrian and bike-only path.

The city is currently considering a winding path down the steep incline.

The trail would snake under the stone bridge for East Washington and run alongside the street for a short stretch and then use an old rail line route that runs behind the Greenville Zoo.

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A rough sketch of how the Swamp Rabbit Extension would continue past the Greenville Zoo.(Photo: Bike Walk Greenville)

The zoo portion is ideal for the trail, but it faces a challenge on restrictions the zoo has of viewing animals, Mansbach said. The zoo's giraffe exhibit is visible from the proposed route.

The trail would then turn toward McBee Station apartments to Station Court and possibly turn the street into a "public bicycle boulevard." From there, the trail would head further west downtown and connect with the main trail behind the Peace Center.

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A rough sketch of how the Swamp Rabbit Extension would continue through McBee Station.(Photo: Bike Walk Greenville)